PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Philadelphia Eagles fired Chip Kelly with one game left in his third season, dumping the coach after missing the playoffs in consecutive years.
Kelly was released Tuesday night just before the end of a disappointing season that began with Super Bowl expectations. The Eagles are 6-9 after going 10-6 in each of Kelly’s first two seasons. They were eliminated from playoff contention after losing to Washington at home on Saturday night.
Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie issued a one-sentence statement to the media, saying he appreciates Kelly’s contributions and wishes him success going forward.
Lurie told fans in an email that he decided to make a change after ”evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team.”
The Eagles also fired Ed Marynowitz, who was vice president of player personnel.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – A task force commissioned by Missouri’s governor has sent to the National Football League its proposal for a billion-dollar stadium along the Mississippi River.
The nearly 400-page tome submitted by the group a day ahead of the deadline is meant to either retain the Rams or attract a new team if owner Stan Kroenke moves the franchise.
The Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are seeking to move to the Los Angeles area. League owners are expected to consider the matter during meetings Jan. 12-13.
The St. Louis proposal calls for $150 million from the city, $300 million from the league, $250 million from the team owner and $160 million in fan seat licenses. The rest of the money comes from the state, either through tax credits or bonds.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Mike Gesell scored a career-high 25 points and Iowa cruised past top-ranked Michigan State 83-70 on Tuesday night, handing the Spartans their first loss of the season.
Peter Jok had 19 points for the Hawkeyes (10-3), which toppled a No. 1 team for the first time in 16 years.
Iowa never trailed in what turned out to be a surprisingly easy win over the Spartans (13-1). The Hawkeyes led by as much as 19 in snapping a nine-game losing streak against Michigan State.
Eron Harris scored 21 points to lead the Spartans. They were playing their second game without injured star Denzel Valentine – their leader in scoring, rebounds and assists – and their first since coach Tom Izzo’s father Carl died Monday.
NBA
PHOENIX (AP) – The Phoenix Suns say leading scorer Eric Bledsoe will not return this season after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
The team made the announcement in a brief news release, saying Bledsoe’s ”prognosis is for a return to full playing status for the start of training camp next fall.”
The 26-year-old point guard was injured in the team’s home loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.
Coach Jeff Hornacek had speculated before Monday’s game against Cleveland that Bledsoe would be sidelined about six weeks. General manager Ryan McDonough had said only that he hoped Bledsoe would return at some point this season.
That all changed with Tuesday’s surgery.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Another day passed Tuesday without a sentence in the fraud case of a former NBA player convicted of running a real estate Ponzi scheme.
Former University of Connecticut and New Jersey Nets guard Tate George appeared in federal court in Trenton on Tuesday for the continuation of a hearing that spanned two days earlier this month. The parties are scheduled to return to court Wednesday morning.
George has been jailed since his 2013 conviction on four counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum 20-year sentence, but George is expected to face considerably less time.
Prosecutors contend he convinced people, including NBA players, to invest in his company but used their money to pay off earlier investors.
George is representing himself and is disputing the amount of money prosecutors say people lost. The amount lost, which will be determined by a judge, could determine the length of George’s sentence.
